Tom Cable Day 2 Q&A

A transcript from Tom Cable’s press conference Sunday following Day 2 of the NFL Draft:Cable: Just to talk a little bit about Day 2, it started with Matt Shaughnessy, a defensive end from Wisconsin, we needed a guy that gives us something like Trevor Scott, that type of guy, but a little more size, and we feel good about that. Louis Murphy, we thought, would have been gone by then. The first question you’ll probably ask me is he played in spread system, yes he did. But always as an outside receiver, so he’s more apt to make the transition in to the pro system. Slade Norris has been at linebacker and played at rush end the last two years at Oregon State. We’re going to stand him up and play him at the SAM linebacker spot. Stryker Sulak was an end also, but also a linebacker in their system, depending on how they played certain teams he would be an inside linebacker, he’d be an edge linebacker, put his hand on the ground and be a defensive end as a pass rusher. So again, we’ll stand him up to start, at the linebacker spot. And then the last one, was a guy that I really felt we had to have, this was the last piece to those four I talked about earlier in the year, that we had to have the tight end that really had some physicalness to him so we could take some of that away from Zach Miller and use him in the passing game a little bit more. Overall, like every coach says, I’m very pleased, what we did, who we got and who we’re bringing in here.

Q: Was it Myers you wanted or just the position?

Cable:I t was Myers. There was two guys on there, Pascoe and Myers, and Pascoe went just before. So, either way, whichever one fell to us we were going to go after and get it.

Q: How does Shaughnessy stand out, more like Richardson or Scott?

Cable: You look at a guy who I think has 48 starts at Wisconsin. He’s been on a number of successful teams. A little more size than Trevor, not as big as Jay, so somewhere in between there. But I like the motor, I like what I got out of him. If you look at the East-West game he really was productive in that all star game, and then just his numbers, playing that much in that league, at that school, is a pretty good accomplishment.

Q: Not a lot of depth at guard, no o-linemen drafted, a reason for that?

Cable: Well, as I mentioned, we kind of went into it talking about the offensive line, you know, for a purpose, really because we had signed Khalif Barnes, Erik Pears, at tackle, and then obviously the trade, which was huge, if you look at the value of that sixth pick, today, that’s a tremendous gift for us. That’s a great trade. Getting Samson traded, getting us the depth there, we’re in good shape. The depth at guard, Cooper, Robert, Paul McQuistan would be the third guy in there, and then you’ve got some other guys that we’ve put in there. I’m trying to think of the names right now. Mark Wilson would be a guy who is cleared now and has come back from the ankle fracture.

Q: Were you intent on getting another receiver, or just couldn’t pass up Murphy?

Cable: Just could not pass him up. Could not pass him up.

Q: Does this young group of receivers have a veteran leader?

Cable: Yeah, that’s a good point. Javon would clearly be the veteran in the group. What we did was we raised the bar at that position, dramatically. And now we’ve got great competition. Can we overcome some of the youthfulness and all that? Probably not, but I think that’s the least of our worries right now, just in terms of getting more production there and better players there.”

Q: Sulak is known for being overly aggressive, is that a concern in terms of penalties?

Cable: None at all. The Raiders need that again. We need more of that. With some discipline along. You can’t be crazy, but you need that attitude.

Q: Would you look at existing veteran free-agent wide receivers?

Cable: You know, I think at this point probably not, because I like the group now. Very satisfied. Did not think Murphy would be there. Had Murphy not been there, that was definitely an option. But now you’ve created, again, another talented guy that can really run. Probably don’t need to do it yet.

Q: A challenge for up/down hybrids to become full-time stand-up guys?

Cable: You’re seeing more and more of that out of the 4-3 teams. That Sam or Will linebacker that on third down’s putting his hand on the ground. We actually did a little study. There’s a tremendous amount of guys that are making that transition, standing up on first and second down and putting their hand down on third. That’s really all over the league now, and some of the very good pass rushers are like that.

Q: Have you done enough to address the issues in run defense?

Cable: We did. First of all, kind of a two-part question there. The run game is kind of addressed a couple of ways. I think that we’ve gotta coach better and clean up some things in terms of what we’re doing, system-wise. I think we’ve addressed that by the coaching staff we’ve hired. And then we’ve got to get better at the linebacker spot. And when I say better, I mean more depth there. That’s really a key for us. You look what happens who we lose a guy, and then we kind of have to piecemeal it together. So this gives us a chance to not have that issue. Mitchell definitely upgrades us if any of you have taken the time to look at him now and see what he is physically. We feel a lot better about it. So we’ve got some good tackles on this football team. They’ve gotta play like it.

Q: Which of the five could play on special teams?

Cable: Actually all five guys we drafted today that was part of it. It’s a great question and that was part of it. My belief in the whole thing was what was their special teams value. You get on the phone with a Louis Murphy and tell him you want to pick him and be an Oakland Raider and the first thing he wanted to know is what is the strength coach’s phone number and can I get on special teams. That’s a great thing. We knew that about him. They all had that characteristic in there. It plays a big role, definitely.

Q: How would you assess how your plan worked out, better than hoped?

Cable: It did. The one thing we had to do was get about three, four key players in free agency and we’re actually stared on that already. When we get done here I’ll go get involved in that. That’s really a key thing for us. I still think we need to find a fullback, maybe another tight end, defensive tackle. Those things jump at me right away. In terms of addressing that in the draft, in some ways we did other than the fullback and the defensive tackle thing but those weren’t priority draft things. They were there if we could do it late, if the right guy was there. If not, we’d go to priority free agents.

Q: So those weren’t part of the four things you need?

Cable: The defensive end definitely was, the receivers were as you knew, the safety was and the tight end. Those were really the keys so we got that done.

Q: These guys seem like good character guys, what happened to the Raiders tradition of castoffs, misfits, etc. . .

Cable: Very much so. If you remember back to week 10, maybe it was week nine
I think. I made a statement to the media team after having a team meeting with just the team and I, the players and I, no coaches, no one else in here and we talked about that issue. If you want to start
winning, if you want to change things around here then the BS has to stop. You have to start living and playing with honor and that means doing things right, with discipline and being selfless. I thought we really took to that the last six weeks and I see it in the offseason program. That’s who I am. I don’t want to do that and inherit a bunch of craziness. At the same time, men are men, boys are boys and they do there things. But I don’t want to bring someone in here that I thought was crazy, that couldn’t fit, that was about him. He had to be about the team. He had to ask me on the phone after we picked him if he could play on special teams. Those kinds of things were really important to me.

Q: Did you mean you’re going to bring in undrafted free agents or veteran free agents?

Cable: It could be both, absoulely. It could be both.

Q: What position is Marcus Johnson going to play?

Cable: Offensive lineman. He’s playing guard.

Q: What do you make of the reports criticizing your picks?

Cable: Well, the first thing you have to know about me is, I don’t need to stand up and beat my chest and say, ‘The hell with everyone.’ I’m going to probably take a statement, if you will, from Bill Walsh. When you find a player you want, go get him. Don’t worry about it. Go get him. And that’s what I did. I’ll take the heat for that. We’ve since had people coming back apologizing, turning on film and saying, ‘Oh, my god, well this guy was going to Chicago, and they admitted that they were going to take him at 49. So, it makes some people look pretty foolish now. But, the bottom line is, I kind of live by that statement from coach Walsh. When you find the one you want, go get it. Don’t let anyone detract you and don’t worry about what they say.

Q: Does it matter much that a player such as Murphy played for a winning team?

Cable: Yeah, that’s a huge point. If you look at every one of these kids. Heyward-Bey kind of up and down but enough you need to say he had a winning record in college. Mike Mitchell won. Shaughnessy won. Mike Mitchell is part of turning around a program that used to be very poor at the University of Ohio. Shaughnessy won a lot of game. Louis Murphy, who we’re talking about directly here, has won two national championships. Not only did he feel like I didn’t have to be the guy but he was also a team captain. So, those qualities you’re talking about. Slade Norris, that program has really taken off in the last few years, that’s doing well at Oregon State. Stryker Sulak, Missouri. That speaks for itself what they’ve been doing lately. Then you look at Brandon Myers. Iowa has consistently been there. They had a couple years prior to this year that were a little up and down. But all of these kids are winners and all of t hem come with leadership and a number of them having been captains.

Q: Did you have any interest or talks regarding Anquan Boldin or Braylon Edwards?

Cable: We did not.

Q: People would call DHB and Mitchell classic size-speed-weight Al Davis picks. Are they Cable picks too? Did you two sell each other on picks?

Cable: We actually had a plan early that we would go out and kind of target the first couple of rounds separately and see where we’re at. The thing was we had one wanted in the first and that was Darrius without question. And two, we both had the same two guys. And it was the same position, we knew who they were, we knew what we wanted to do. So when they both hit it really was kind of unique because we had agreed that’s where we were at. Very much together in it and the rest kind of took care of itself. I think when you look at the draft, the characteristics of the player, athletically, size, speed numbers and all that. Certainly those are Oakland raider numbers, Al davis numbers and all that. At the same time the other things that go with it, my name’s right there with it.

Q: Are some of these players similar to the guys you have?

Cable: Yeah, I think one of the things that sold me on Mike was the fact that I love Tyvon. And I watched him play before he got hurt last year and being a gunner on special teams and his play on defense and said you know what, I want another one like that. I like that so much I want another one. And he got hurt and we missed it. And so I know think what you did is you made yourself better. You’ve got two guys like Tyvon. Again you did nothing but get better. And having been around that last year I really gained fondness for what he’s capable of and what he brought to the table. The great thing about Tyvon is his attitude and how he plays and how he works in the weight room and out on the field. He challenges people in a respectful way. He’s really good.

Q: Is Murphy anything like Schillens?

Cable: They’re similar really because they’re big guys that can run. Yeah. Does the height, weight speed thing fit the raiders thing, absolutely. Does this guy with all those things we just talked about, the championships, the captain, the ability to make plays. Being the outside receiver in a spread offense system which is conducive to coming to pro football. All those things add up. Yeah, maybe there is a comparison.

Q: How were things different for you this year as head coach? A fun experience?

Cable: it was. There some times, the trade with New England to get where we wanted to be to position ourselves. We held on to that second four, got a pick out of it. Carolina was willing to deal with us at the end. Those are kind of tense moments you know leading up to it. Especially day 2 because you’re time is shorter on the clock. But I dig that stuff. I think it’s cool. I liked it. I just think there was a Plan A, Plan B, however it was going to go to make the deal. We were fortunate people worked with us so it was good.

Q: How did you come up with your draft day style?

Cable: We do things here I think in a certain way. I think there’s a lot of fact to that. Whether you want to call it the Al Davis way, the Oakland raider way, it’s our way and one of the things that I’ve learned being here two years prior was the more you do diligence as an assistant coaching staff, the more you get every I dotted, T crossed, and you find and you look and background check and go get some more and find even more. The more you do that, the smoother it is through the process. And that’s what we did and I thought the staff did a great job. I thought the scouts, we were on with them, they were on with us, that’s what really got me excited. We really connected this year and everything worked. We had a plan and we stuck to the plan and we got who we needed to get.

Q: Was it the least contentious draft since you got here?

Cable: Aw come on now, we had fun today and yesterday, that’s the way drafts are supposed to be. There’s heated moments, you’re competing against 31 other teams to make your team better so I’m not going to go there. It’s what it’s supposed to be David.

Q: Seahawks went to Super Bowl with john Marshall defense, what does he bring here?

Cable: There’s two things I mention when I hired him and the reason I hired those guys on defense. One, they’ve been a part of building something, which you just mentioned. They’ve all been a part of playing and coaching and winning Super Bowls. They’ve also lost Super Bowls but they’ve also been to the top of the mountain. I just felt like the experience of all that is what this football team needs. We’ve got some good players. I’m not going to change my deal on that. We’ve got good players. Do we need more? Always, that’s what we’ve been doing the last two days. But they got to put them in the right place, teach them how to do it the right way then get the hell out of the way and let them play and that’s really what my plan was and it’s coming together as I see it.

Q: How different will passing game be with all these young guys?

Cable: I think it’s going to be night and day. Now, does that mean we’re going to be a top-20, top-15, what I’m hoping for? Yeah, we will. When? I’m not sure. But I look at it now and I see, you know what? We can attack you all over the field now. We’ve got guys who can catch and make a play somewhere, they can beat press coverage, they can get up top and run away. So I look at that and I just feel like with Johnnie and Chaz and the improvement those guys made, particularly at the end of the year last year, and add these two new guys in and see if we can get Javon Walker healthy, find out about Arman Shields, what does he bring to the table. You start looking at it and, you know what? We raised the bar. We now have a group at that position that can go out and compete and we’re going to have some pretty high competition at that spot.
All right, thank you.

Jerry McDonald - NFL Writer

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for everybody who is saying jruss is dumb and cant learn an offense when he was at lsu the OC was jimbo fisher who has a complicated offense

jhill

The thing a few folks are forgeting Priest is that Al and Cable admitted at the start of this that they are not close to being a SB team, and even said he knows we are not a playoff team. Can we compete for the division? Obviously, but that is just b/c the conference is so down. We have a QB, 2 RB, a WR that are all legit first round talents. But none of them have any experience. Neither does our LT (or maybe RT if he loses out to Barnes).

Cable has clearly put guys on notice. Burgess is out. The WRs weren’t productive enough and have been replaced. The LBs are clearly shaking in there boots, as if Huff.

If OT is an issue next year, then it will be addressed. But to not give Henderson a full year after what he did at the end of the season would not be right. Cornell Green has been replaced. Grove is gone!

Performed well at the Harvard Pro Day flashing 11.5″ hands and 35.5″ arms. He also posted 4.92 and 4.93 heats in the 40-yard dash with a 31″ vertical, he repped 225 pounds 35 times on the bench.

Strengths

Physical freak, especially for the Ivy League. Massive, and can be looked at as a coveted 3-4 DE. Very long arms with good ups. Wreaks havoc by batting the ball down at the line of scrimmage. Very strong, and can really bull rush anybody at this level. Also has some moves. Obviously very intelligent. May not need football.

Weaknesses

Has never been tested against elite competition despite the undeniable physical gifts. Should have had better production that he did against such a low level of competition. Does he have motivational issues?

Projection:

5-6th round project with immense upside.

alisgod

blackdeath29 Says:
April 26th, 2009 at 9:22 pm
Dude ,
once again does it matter?if can play nobody cares.trust me the guys at espn are not going to bring it up if he turns out to be good.only if he`s bad will bring it up next year.and you will do the same thing.
————————

Black…exactly. .Have you noticed how both BSPN and NFL Network have yet to run any tape of Mitchell? They know they screwed up and too scared to put the tape on. Becuase the tape woudl show how stupid they were in overlooking him. You can’t tell me that they couldnt have dig up his tape by now.

jhill

Very strong, and can really bull rush anybody at this level. Also has some moves. Obviously very intelligent. May not need football.

——————————————————

Well now, maybe we can cut Sands and make a few more people happy?

priesttj

Here’s to hoping that Jerry Rice and Heyward-Bey see a lot of each other.

Oh! one other thing, it’s very obvious that Cable did NOT like Crabtree’s attitude and that’s also the reason Terrell Owens was never going to come here.

I’m not sure that if Cable is not the HC of the O Raiders that would be the case. In other words Big Al is definitely listening to coach Cable. TO was never even a chance except in the media.

DarthPirate

When is the first camp for the rookies?

IndianaRaider

# 209, wouldn’t be enough to silence some of the vocal critics who haven’t stopped bashing to notice all the depth being brought in to compete for position. FB and TE are still on Cables mind and I’m almost 100% there will be more linemen brought in, with him to have 6-7 more guys he is interested in bringing in.

NoMoreFargas

# jhill Says:
April 26th, 2009 at 9:32 pm

The thing a few folks are forgeting Priest is that Al and Cable admitted at the start of this that they are not close to being a SB team, and even said he knows we are not a playoff team. Can we compete for the division? Obviously, but that is just b/c the conference is so down. We have a QB, 2 RB, a WR that are all legit first round talents. But none of them have any experience. Neither does our LT (or maybe RT if he loses out to Barnes).

Cable has clearly put guys on notice. Burgess is out. The WRs weren’t productive enough and have been replaced. The LBs are clearly shaking in there boots, as if Huff.

If OT is an issue next year, then it will be addressed. But to not give Henderson a full year after what he did at the end of the season would not be right. Cornell Green has been replaced. Grove is gone!

What’s the problem folks?
————————————————————-
Win games thats it, no one expects a SB but if the fins can go from 1-15 to 11-5 why not us is it crazy to hope 5-11 turns to 10-6

RAJ ALL DAY

I requested this draft weekend off from work over 2 months ago. I was soo pumped up. But now, it feels like the worst weekend ive had in months, very disappointed in the Raiders…

Reka5maticRaider

Mike Mitchell can really hit like a cannon, he reminds me of polamalu…this guy is the real deal!

Lowdown_in_Beijing

Ok, let’s paint by numbers…

Looks like Al chose white over silver and black…

Wonder why?

raiderrej

DarthPirate Says:
April 26th, 2009 at 9:39 pm
When is the first camp for the rookies?

With the draft over, the Raiders have signed their first undrafted free agent: Harvard defensive tackle Desmond Bryant of Harvard, according to a league source.

————–
—hes smart he went to HarvaRD, maybe HE CAN HELP SANDS WIth his algebra—–

SharkCatcher

the guys 6foot6 inches
runs a 4.9

raideredoutL.A.

in vegas this weekend and i literally spilled my drink by the suprise of dhb, even though mayock called it weeks ago, still was a major shock. what positives if anyone will answer will this guy bring if he’s been shut out in games in college to us this year or down the road

priesttj

he makes me think of Grady Jackson when we drafted him out of Knoxville college and Tommy Kelly a UDFA.

It’s really incredible to be able to get these guy’s, Joseph and Bryant and they beat out the 2nd and 3rd rndrs. But it happens every year.

Lowdown_in_Beijing

not race…bugger race…I am talking color.

Lord, there is a difference…Hatian and Indians are darker than some people from Sierra Leone, etc.

Anyway…COLOR.

raiderrej

what happened to the couch analysis on desmond bryant??? cant find him on youtube either…

raideredoutL.A.

so were the bears really gonna get mitchell in the 2nd

SharkCatcher

hes a hardworker, not a diva…didnt have a 100 thousand dollar watch on his wrist, he was sitting on an old couch at home..hungry…you can teach him to catch the ball, u cant teach 4.3 speed

SharkCatcher

Mitchell is hungry and on swole, good insticts!

raideredoutL.A.

true that i didn’t like that big ass ring crabtree was wearing either

r8rpaver

Raiderdout…read post #126

raideredoutL.A.

good looking out #233, just still soaking it in u know vegas residue

SharkCatcher

regarless of the picks…its competiton being brought at positions we needed to address..Ims till on board to have a great camp and beat the chargers game 1

We need youth at the DT position…bring in another outcast that some team failed to develop.

Cable prefers white over silver and black.

Glutten for Punishment

hes getting football players and not divas. cable is going about this whole thing very smart.

lefty12

one thing i noticed about every pick was they are high character,hard working high motor guys.and i heard Casserly say you like to build your team with those type of players.i know i’d rather have that type of player than a bunch of me first prima donnas.

Tommy Trojan25

A rel hybrid defense? Wow… Apparently he’s saying he wants to structure the defense like USC’s but with more of a finese rusher at SAM. That could be fun to watch, and Kelly could finally realize his potential a a strong side 3 on 3rd…I actually like those LB/DE picks a lot more with that idea in mind.

The company line is what it is, but at least it sounds good.

NW Raider

Big, very fast, inconsistent hands, who does that remind me of……… aw yes T.O.
Walker and Higgins are here to be the possession receivers DHB is here to stretch the field, there’s no sense having Russell if you don’t throw deep 5 or six times a game.
Will the revamped line give Russell time? Cable thinks so. Time will tell, GO RAIDERS!!!!

raiderforlife

I remember what Mel Kipper said about Nammdi he was picked to high cant play just speed, well Mel what you say now. I know we are taking heat but the receiver we picked played in a pro style offense. The other guys where in spread offense with better quarterbacks. I think Maclin might be better, but after looking it over the guy we got might be the next bust draft pick by the Raiders just like Naamdi.